


how i find the light

by Padraigen



Category: Cobra Kai (Web Series), Karate Kid (Movies)
Genre: 1986, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, First Kiss, M/M, Stargazing, Sweet, Teen Lawrusso, kissing under the stars, post-karate kid III
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-12
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-19 10:36:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,842
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29998083
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Padraigen/pseuds/Padraigen
Summary: Cobra Kai Bingo Card Prompt:stargazing—It occurs to Daniel that there's a lot he doesn't know about Johnny Lawrence.This is just one of those things.
Relationships: Daniel LaRusso/Johnny Lawrence
Comments: 23
Kudos: 45
Collections: Cobra Kai Bingo 2021





	1. I.

**Author's Note:**

> i am hosting a cobra kai bingo at dreamwidth. this is a fill for my own card, for the prompt _stargazing_. grab your own bingo card [here](https://padraigen.dreamwidth.org/655.html).
> 
> title is from the song [Stargazing](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEdvvTF5js4) by Kygo.
> 
> enjoy!

He likes to drive sometimes.

Elbow up on the door panel, aviators on, wind blowing in his hair. Makes him feel like he’s in a film, and at times he wishes his car had a radio. But, he supposes, it’s pretty cool by itself. A bit unusual, not something you’re used to seeing around here—it’s not your typical Porsche or Audi, but it’s got class.

He’s not very typical, anyway, and he thinks a man’s car ought to fit him. It’s so obvious when it doesn’t, like wearing an unfitted suit with the tag still attached, proclaiming to all, _This doesn’t belong to me._ Or, worse, _I don’t belong to this._

Driving’s pretty mindless. It requires enough attention that his mind doesn’t have to run a million miles an hour to make up for the boredom of sitting around doing nothing, but not so much attention that it becomes taxing. There’s a lotta things he doesn’t like to think about when he’s sitting around, so it’s better if he’s doing something.

And like he said—it’s a nice car. It’d be a shame to keep it hidden in the back of Miyagi’s house all the time. It’s the kind of car that should be appreciated, or otherwise, does he really deserve it?

It’s on one of these drives that he’s coming over a hill and spots a red Avanti pulled off to the side of the road in front of an open field. It’s the type of car that could only fit one person in the entire Valley.

He happens to know for a fact that it belongs to Johnny Lawrence.

There’s a thousand reasons he should ignore it, not least of which because it’s getting pretty late—almost 9 o’clock—and he’s got an early shift at the auto repair shop tomorrow morning.

He pulls over.

In the rear view mirror, he can see his hair is a little wild, and so for reasons he tries not to look at too closely, he runs his fingers through it in an ultimately fruitless attempt to tame it. Ah, well.

He doesn’t see Johnny right away, which he tells himself is part of the reason he pulled over at all—what if he’d been in trouble? Daniel likes to think of himself as a good samaritan, looking out for his fellow Valley residents. Creating good karma, and all’a that.

He gets out of his car and rounds the Avanti, and sort of has to pull up short, because…

It’s a bit of a contrast in Daniel’s mind, the familiar versus the unfamiliar. Familiar: (pretty) blond locks illuminated by the moonlight, almost white in its brilliance, and headphones securely fastened over ears. Unfamiliar: black leather jacket, notebook in hand, pencil behind ear, eye pressed to… telescope?

It occurs to Daniel that there's a lot he doesn't know about Johnny Lawrence.

This is just one of those things.

It’s the kind of realization that’s enough to get him to back off, turn around. Get back in his car, Johnny none the wiser.

Because it also occurs to him that there are just some things he doesn’t want to know.


	2. II.

Daniel is out driving the following night, and he doesn’t have a destination in mind nor is he following a set path. It’s purely chance that he drives over the same hill he had last night at roughly 9 o’clock. Really.

Again, he spots the Avanti.

His fists clench around the steering wheel. _What the hell is he doing out here?_ is, somehow, a very dangerous thought. Something about cats and curiosity, and it was enough to have him running for the hills last night, but now he’s back, struggling to pretend it was all an accident.

Who’s he tryna kid, anyway? He’s never in his life run from danger, would probably be a lot happier if he did, but hey, if psychotic billionaires in the business of making the lives of All Valley champions from Jersey a living hell weren’t enough to end a guy’s worst habits, well…

Anyway, Daniel is fine. Maybe not _happy_ , per se, but nobody’s happy every day of their life. It’s a process, something to work towards, and that’s what he’s doing. At least that’s what he tells his ma and Mr. Miyagi he’s doing, and he thinks sometimes he even believes it, so.

He pulls over.

This time Johnny’s headphones are around his neck, and his pencil’s in his hand, and a tiny flashlight is clasped between his teeth, which makes for a very interesting image that Daniel couldn’t walk away from even if he tried, although he never would’ve had the chance because—

“What do you want.”

Johnny looks up and stares at him, his fingers snatching the flashlight out from between his lips. Daniel’s a little caught off guard, because this isn’t how the scene had played out in his head when he specifically hadn’t thought about it all day, not wondering about what would have happened if he hadn’t run away last night.

How Johnny would be lost in his little world of stars and music, and then— _surprise, asshole, betcha never thought you’d see me again_. Like being caught red-handed with his hand in the cookie jar, except the cookie jar’s a nerdy hobby that guys like Johnny used to ridicule other guys for having in high school.

But Johnny is looking at him like _Daniel’s_ the one who’s gone off script, and honestly, can you _believe_ this guy?

“What are you doing?” Daniel says instead of answering the question, except— _damn it_ —that kind of does answer the question, and also kind of reveals way more than Daniel was prepared to give. Johnny smirks at him like he knows it too—what a douchebag—but at least he doesn’t ask, _Why do you care?_ because Daniel would be forced to answer that he _doesn’t,_ what could give him such a ridiculous idea, and they’d both stare at each other as the million dollar question hung almost fucking _palpable_ between them—

_Then why are you here?_

And Daniel really wouldn’t have had an answer for that, now would he?

Anyway, if Johnny thinks he’s doing Daniel a favor by asking—“What’s it look like?”—well… he _is_ , and they both know it, but hell will freeze over before Daniel ever acknowledges it.

Daniel stuffs his hands into his jacket pockets and saunters forward— _c’mon, that was practically an invitation, what’re you glaring at me like that for, you ever get headaches frowning so hard all the time?_ —and drawls, “I’m surprised you know how to use one of those.” And he nods to the telescope behind Johnny, which appears to be the exact same one from the night before, sitting casually on its mount like its very existence isn’t messing with Daniel’s head.

Johnny just scoffs and rolls his eyes, which is kinda disappointing because even though Daniel’s not necessarily _itching_ for a fight, his entire world might actually be liable to complete alteration if he’s not even able to get a rise out of _Johnny Lawrence_ anymore.

He’s not sure he’d survive that kind of evolution.

Johnny seems largely unaware of Daniel’s internal crisis as he turns back around, leaning down to look through the telescope’s eyepiece.

“If I let you stay, will you promise to shut up?”

If he _lets_ him? The audacity of this guy, like he owns the whole damn field or somethin’.

Daniel has to physically bite his lip to stop from sniping back at him. He wanders closer and pushes up on his toes to see over Johnny’s hunched shoulder.

Dear God, there are actual numbers and charts and _drawings_ on the page of his open notebook. “Who the hell are you, and what have you done with Johnny Lawrence?”

Johnny jerks his head back and twists to look at him. “What?” At last he sounds a little defensive, hints of real annoyance coloring his tone. It’s a little like music to Daniel’s ears.

“What is that?” Daniel points to a drawing on the page that could be a rectangle if Johnny had drawn it while he was drunk, two arbitrary lines sticking out the bottom of it.

“It’s the Gemini constellation,” he says, like it should be obvious, like Daniel’s an idiot for not recognizing the star patterns he looks up to see every night, or would see if he ever bothered to actually look up at all, or if he didn’t live in an area full of light pollution.

Daniel can see the amount of effort it would take to tell Johnny all of this just to defend himself against an accusation that is, at best, alleged, and exhausts himself just thinking about it. So he decides to be magnanimous and let it go. “Why do you have drawings of the Gemini constellation?”

“I’m tracking it.”

“Tracking it?” Christ, it’s like pulling teeth.

“Yeah, stars _move_ , dipshit.”

That’s not what he meant, Johnny _knows_ that’s not what he meant—he’s sure of it—but he can’t very well accuse him of it. Well, he could, but they both know who’s intruding on who here, and Daniel wouldn’t even be able to say he didn’t deserve the punch in the face he got after Johnny demanded he leave him alone and Daniel… well, didn’t.

(Oh, and by the way, Daniel _does_ know that stars move, thank you very much, or at least he would’ve figured as much if he’d ever stopped to think about it, which he never had.)

Daniel sucks in a sharp breath through his nose, breathing like Miyagi taught him to do when he’s upset—and he isn’t so much upset as he is riled, like he always gets when he’s treated to Johnny Lawrence’s particular brand of antagonism, but whatever works.

When his mild irritation doesn't feel like it’s about to boil over into full-blown indignation, Daniel clarifies. “ _Why_ are you tracking it?”

And, surprisingly, Johnny’s face suddenly blanks out, but it’s only for a second before his eyes begin to darken and, _oh shit, land mine_ , Daniel thinks, _abort, abort!_

“Listen, man—”

“Fuck off, LaRusso.”

Perhaps the most unexpected thing about this night is that Daniel _does_.


	3. III.

Daniel means to go back the next night. So he put his foot in his mouth… it’s not the first time, and he’s no quitter. He’d bet Johnny is even expecting him. Daniel LaRusso… couldn’t leave well enough alone.

But somehow he gets roped into cooking dinner for his ma, and then they’re talking and she’s laughing and he sorta loses track of time.

She pulls out the cards and the brandy, and they play gin while listening to Helen Reddy on vinyl.

When he’s laying in bed at almost midnight, he wonders if Johnny’s still out there, or if he had even gone out to the field at all.

He wonders if he’s found what he’s looking for, but that might just be the brandy. He’s feeling a little tipsy.

Eventually, Daniel falls asleep.

**Author's Note:**

> please drop a comment if you have a chance! thanks!
> 
> chat with me on [tumblr](https://padraigendragon.tumblr.com/)!


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